All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, based in Moscow, is using wireless HD/SD remote camera systems from Nucomm for its ENG operations. The major broadcaster owns and operates five national television channels, two international networks, five radio stations and more than 80 regional TV and radio networks.

The Nucomm wireless systems are used for coverage of live events like the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade last month, each equipped with a camera control telemetry system that controls Sony HD cameras via a Sony Remote Control Panel.

The broadcaster’s camera operators are using the systems in the 7GHz spectrum, leveraging Nucomm’s four-way diversity circuitry to ensure reliable coverage with low latency in this higher frequency band. They are also making use of the wireless COFDM-modulation system’s “combined block downconverter” features that allow four-way diversity to two Nucomm Newscaster DR2 receivers simultaneously.

Each HD wireless system consists of a CamPac2 transmitter and Newscaster DR2 receiver. The CamPac2’s thermal characteristics facilitate operation in the harshest of conditions, including the low temperatures and winds common to Russian winters.

Outfitted with dual audio inputs that can be arranged for microphone, line level or AES/EBU digital sound, the CamPac2’s audio levels can be easily set using programmable gain.

Nucomm says its Newscaster DR2 can receive lower frequency UHF signals, allowing the unit to work with external block downconverters (BDCs). Its architecture offers communication between the external BDCs and the main receive unit, enabling the system to operate in different modes, such as wideband block downconversion or channel-specific downconversion.

The Newscaster DR2 is equipped with four VHF/UHF inputs that communicate directly to the external BDCs. It utilizes maximum ratio combining techniques to provide up to four-way diversity. In using the external BDC, the Newscaster DR2’s receiving antennas can be remotely mounted at a distance from the main unit. It is outfitted with an integrated COFDM demodulator, an MPEG-2 HD/SD decoder, an internal power supply, an integrated spectrum analyzer and an on-screen display.